About Us:

Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio is located in Langley , Washington. We are dedicated to providing education in high quality representational art for artists at every level. In a pleasant and well equipped environment, we offer classes and workshops led by nationally recognized instructors/artists.

Meet the Artists

Steven Assael

Steven Assael's style is unique and has characteristic sense of light and shadow to illuminate the characters - paintings and drawings. Steven Assael is one of the most famous present living artists of our time. He presently teaches at The School of Visual Arts in New York. He studied at Pratt Institute, NYC and with fine art instructors as Robert Beverly Hale and David Leffel. He is known for his conscientious focus on visual truth combined with his compassion sensibility for the human condition transform his figures into towering works of art.

Anne Belov

Anne Belov has been drawing and painting for more than 25 years. She received her B.F.A. from Philadelphia College of Art in Pennsylvania and her M.F.A. from the University of Washington.

John Budicin

John Budicin was born in Rovigno, Italy. John was 12 years old when his family settled in Southern California. After working as a commercial artist for 19 years, John finally decided to make his true passion for art his lifetime profession. With many awards and honors, Budicin's work has been in museum exhibitions and featured in many art magazines, such as Southwest Arts, Pasadena magazine, and Art Business News. Recently, several of his paintings were selected and published in 200 Great Painting Ideas for Artists. Budicin is represented by the Long Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as other galleries in Pasadena, California; Laguna Beach, California; and Taos, New Mexico.

Faye Castle

A longtime student of color, light, and the vast potential for human expression, Faye Castle has been recognized as a Distinguished Pastellist with the Northwest Pastel Society. Her work was featured on the cover of Rockport Publishers’ The Best of Pastels. Faye studied art at the University of Washington, and received her BA in 1967. She followed that degree with a teaching certification, beginning a lifelong interplay between learning and teaching. She completed the Classical Animation Program at the Vancouver Film School in 1997 and taught figure drawing, color and  design  at the Art Institute of Seattle until moving to Whidbey Island. 

Aleah Chapin

Aleah Chapin is fascinated by the many languages that pigment can speak. Through paint, she explores her surroundings and the intrinsic physical quality of things. By investigating exterior textures she delves deeper into the unseen cerebral and psychological substance of the person or object she is painting.

Cheri Christensen

Cheri Christensen was born in Enumclaw, Washington, a small rural town of horse and cattle ranches and dairies at the foot of Mt. Rainier. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and graduated from the University of Washington. Cheri has recently been featured in magazines such as “American Art Collector” and “Western Art Collector,” and will be profiled April 2012 in “Southwest Art” magazine.  She can also be found demonstrating her painting techniques in the Liliedahl Video Production “Straight Ahead, a palette knife demonstration in oil.

Aaron Coberly

Aaron Coberly was born in Seattle in 1971. He has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He started taking art seriously as a teenager after being invited to attend a life drawing class. Living and traveling in Europe further inspired him. His work is primarily figurative with a stylistic nod to the Masters and the Impressionists. Aaron runs an open painting and drawing session in Seattle.

David Gluck

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, David Gluck currently resides in Toronto with his wife Katherine Stone where he works as a full time artist and part time instructor. He received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Art Education from Penn State University.

David Gray David Gray (b. 1970) acquired a strong foundational education in art

while obtaining his BFA from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. His art education has continued with independent and occasional formal studies in pictorial expression and oil painting. The resulting work reveals a personal and contemporary expression of beauty and order which pays homage to the Classical Tradition in its craftsmanship. David's paintings have earned several national awards and his career has been covered by major art publications including Southwest Art, Art of the West, and American Art Collector. David's works are included in many discriminating private art collections throughout the United States and abroad.

Annette Hanna

PSA, AAPL portraitist, Annette studied at the ArtStudents League with John Sanden, Daniel Greeneand Burt Silverman. She has won numerous awardsin pastel and oil, including four Gold Medals inPainting. Author of book on portraiture and featuredin September 1999 American Artist magazine, theBest in Pastels II, 2002 Portrait Highlights and pastelArtist International.

Pam Ingalls

Ingall’s education in art began early. She first studied with her father, Richard Ingalls, who created the Art Department at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. She continued at the Accademia Delle Belle Arte in Florence, Italy in 1977, then returned home to earn her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Gonzaga in 1979.

Robert Johnson

Robert A. Johnson received his training in painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York and individual instruction from master painter Lajos Markos. His numerous awards include First Place from The Artist's Magazine annual competition and the Salmagundi Club. Johnson has participated in national juried shows sponsored by the Salmagundi Club, Knickerbocker Artists, National Watercolor Society, Oil Painters of America, National Arts for the Parks, and the Portrait Institute in New York, among others. He has had numerous individual gallery shows, and his work is currently exhibited in galleries in the Southwest and in Washington, D.C. Johnson is the author of On Becoming a Painter, and his work is also featured in The Best of Flower Painting 2.

Michael Klein Currently living in New York, Michael Klein is a burgeoning artist in the

Classical Realist movement, creating melancholic paintings that have a distinct and haunting feeling. Klein grew up in the Midwest, where he developed a special connection with nature and a desire to describe his world accurately through his work. He began his academic art training at 19 with Richard Whitney and, two years later, at Richard Lack’s The Atelier in Minneapolis. Still searching for further enrichment, he moved to New York City to study at The Art Students League of New York and, subsequently, the Water Street Atelier with Jacob Collins. Just a few years later, at the age of 27, Klein had his very first solo exhibition at Arcadia Fine Arts in New York.

Simon Kogan

Simon Kogan is a world-renowned artist residing in Olympia, WA. Born in Moscow, Russia and studying under one of Russia's most eminent sculptors, Simon has worked in nearly every medium the art world has invented. Kogan's monuments and commissioned work can be seen throughout the world, including major pieces in the United States, Russia, France, and Spain. Simon also spends a good portion of his time teaching sculpture, drawing, and painting at art schools and programs around the world. He lives with his wife and two children.

Jim Lamb In 1991 Lamb was chosen Artist of the Year for the nationally recognized

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina. His work was also selected for the National Birds in Art Show which traveled to Japan and can be seen in North Light's book, The Best of Wildlife Art. He is a member of the prestigious Western Rendezvous of Art (NWR) group of artists, which holds its’ annual show in August in Helena, Montana. In 2008 Jim was awarded the merit award by his peers at the Rendezvous Show for his painting, APPROACHING THUNDER. His work was on the cover and featured inside the May 2010 issue of Southwest Art magazine, as well as in the February 2001 issue. The February 2009 issue of Art of the West magazine also featured his work.

Jeff Legg Jeff Legg, a native of Missouri studied painting and drawing at the Minneapolis

College of Artand Design and also Atelier Lack, a private art studio school modeled after 15th to 19th century classical European instruction. His “old master” techniques combined with his inspired contemporary use of chiaroscuro engage fellow artists and collectors world wide. Today, Legg’s artwork is represented by some of the nation’s most distinguished galleries and is an Oil Painters of America signature Master painter. A nationally recognized award winning artist, his paintings have been featured in many publications including The Artists Magazine, AmericanArtist, North Light books, Art of the West, Western Art Collector, American Art Collector and has graced the cover of Southwest Art Magazine. Legg now resides in Estes Park, Colorado where he paints daily in his studio.

-- 

Robert Liberace Robert Liberace is equally accomplished in drawing, painting,

and sculpture. His work is inspired by the centuries of knowledge, skill, and elegance of the old masters. He works in a variety of mediums including pencil, chalk, pen and ink, watercolor, and oil. Rob has been selected to be an honorary member of the America China Oil Painting Artists League.Robert received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from George Washington University. He is represented by the Arcadia Gallery in New York City, the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco, and the M Gallery in Charleston. Rob lives with his wife, illustrator Lina Liberace, and their two daughters in their 1910 Virginia home which has turned out to be a never-ending renovation project.

Carol Marine

Carol Marine holds her BFA in Studio Art, with a focus in painting from the University of Texas in Austin. On October 5, 2006, Carol began the process of doing one small painting a day and posting them on her blog.

Kim Middleton

Growing up in Sitka, Alaska, Kim developed an appreciation for nature and enthusiasm for birds. After graduating from Western Washington University with degrees in Biology and Chemistry, Kim worked as an analytical/ research chemist, but soon volunteered with the United States Peace Corps, in Botswana, Africa. Upon returning to the States, Kim focused her efforts on creating a career dedicated to birds. She actively works as an ornithologist, bird trainer, wildlife rehabilitator, field researcher, and avian artist.

Dreama Tolle Perry

Dreama Tolle Perry’s masterful handling of color combined with exuberant brush work results in paintings that stir the senses. She has published two books, The Artist’s Toolbox and Let There Be Love.

David Riedel

David’s education as a painter began with the Art Students League in New York City. David Leffel was his primary influence and instructor among the many fine instructors at the League he was fortunate to study with.

Henry Stinson

Henry Stinson has the master's touch in both drawing and painting. His work reflects the old masters that he studied incessantly. His oils show the influence of Russian Impressionism, but with Henry's trademark approach. A bit quirky and more modern, his subjects include heating oil tanks, VW starters, and Martians. His focus and true love is the human figure, however, which he conveys with incredibly graceful and painterly brushstrokes. His drafting skills are superb.

Todd Telander

Art and the study of nature have been dual passions for Todd Telander since his childhood in rural Northern California. He began to seriously focus on art as a career while attending the University of California at Santa Cruz. While earning degrees in Environmental Studies and Biology, he completed a graduate-level program in scientific illustration, and immediately began work as a freelance artist on a national and international level. He has since studied fine art independently in several western states and was awarded an artist's residency at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. For the past twenty years he has made his living as a freelance artist. 

Dan Thompson

Dan Thompson was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. He earned his MFA from the Graduate School of Figurative Art of the New York Academy of Art, and supplemented his training with several additional years of private study and studio apprenticeships along the east coast of the United States. He has been awarded two grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and has twice received the Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. In 2001, Thompson won Best of Show in the American Society of Portrait Artist’s International Portrait Competition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Mary Whyte

Mary Whyte's paintings of the people and places of the South Carolina Low Country are richly narrative. She combines abstract design with sensitive rendering to produce the dynamic portraits she is known for. Mary is also an avid teacher and author. She lives and paints in Charleston, South Carolina and teaches painting workshops across the country.

Zhaoming Wu

Zhaoming Wu was born in China and grew up in Guangzhou City. He received his BFA from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art China and his MFA from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Since 1983, he has been exhibiting his work in Asia, Europe, the United States and other countries around the world. He has won numerous awards, including the Merit Award at the 6th National Art Exhibition in Beijing, China, the Gustafson Fund Award, the National Oil and Acrylic Painter's Society (US) Award, 1st place in the 9th Biennial National Figure Painting and Drawing Exhibition, Second Prize Winner in International Artist magazine's Challenge No. 4 (Aug/Sept 2001), and the Daler-Rowney Award from the Oil Painters of America.

Henry Yan

"I paint and I teach. I paint people, I paint landscapes and I paint anything that inspires me to mix colors and brush them on canvasses. Galleries, private collectors, and commissioned clients are those to whom my paintings went. I teach drawing, I teach painting and I teach anything that my students like to share with me. Many years I have taught, and still I am teaching full time at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I've seen energetic students, I've seen sleepy students, life is delicious—as long as one is happy.”